This invention relates to pharmaceutical compositions which have activity as anti-cancer agents and to methods for the treatment of cancer in patients.
Cisplatin, or cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum-II, has been used successfully for many years as a chemotherapeutic agent in the treatment of various human solid malignant tumours. Cisplatin has the structural formula: ##STR1## More recently, other diamino-platinum complexes have also been proposed for use as anti-cancer drugs, for example spiro-platinum and carbo-platinum.
Although cisplatin is widely used in medicine, nonetheless it is not therapeutically effective in all patients, nor against all types of solid malignant tumours. Moreover, it has to be administered at high dosage levels such as can cause kidney damage unless special precautions are taken.